One year a blustery March saw our 40-year-old fence fall to the ground. I can’t allow wood to be scrapped, so we built a “tree house” for the kids. They each picked a tree for it. One picked an Aspen, and the other picked a purple something or other that is actually a pretty bush. Maybe this year since it’s been beaten to heck by hail at least a dozen times this year. Then the Japanese beetles moved in. I hate them. Most years, it’s gorgeous. #Gardening #Zone5b #Denver #BloomScrolling 6/7

There was still far too much lawn, though, so when I was eight months pregnant with our second child, I decided we needed to rip out the random section of lawn off by itself and put in a border along the walkway. 🙄 The border has morphed into a strawberry bed (FYI: squirrels dislike tarragon so much they’ll leave strawberries alone), and that random bed was a raised veggie garden for a decade before the neighbor's tree grew up and shaded it. #Gardening #Zone5b #Denver #BloomScrolling 4/7

Then I read that Virginia Creeper berries could make a toddler sick. My husband was on travel, but that's never stopped me when an idea takes hold. Plus, I knew where we kept the Sawz-all. What I didn't know was that once I got the fence down, I'd find four windows into the neighbor's garage. Fortunately, my husband has more tools than Norm Abrams and thought building "shutters" and flower boxes would take care of things. #Gardening #Zone5b #Denver #BloomScrolling 3/7

So first things first. We needed a tree to shade the concrete patio eventually. We couldn't understand why the patio was literally as far away from the house as it could be and still be on our property. Turns out it was the pool deck for the in-ground swimming pool and spa circa 1977-1994. We found that out when we tried to plant the tree and kept hitting concrete and rebar. #Gardening #Zone5b #Denver #BloomScrolling 2/7

When we bought our home 15 summers ago, the backyard was basically lawn and Virginia Creeper. There wasn't bird song. Or pollinators. Just a lot of scorching Colorado (US) sun and Kentucky Bluegrass that wanted vast quantities of water in a state that historically doesn't have a lot of water. It wasn't a place where my melanin-challenged family could spend much time. #Gardening #Zone5b #Denver #BloomScrolling 1/7

A few photos from the garden this morning. Had to wear a mask because our air quality is not good but the plants are looking pretty good regardless. I have been slowly taking over the grass to convert to garden and will continue to do so for years to come, hopefully. this garden is in mid michigan in zone 5B

#Garden #Gardening #CottageGarden #Zone5B

The dreaded #JapaneseBeetles have arrived. There were none yesterday and only a few today, so I am hoping that my heavy application of #BeetleJus this morning (plus the fact the hail decimated all of their favorite feast: the #hollyhocks) will keep them at bay. Goodness, how I hate the little buggers. #Gardening #Zone5B

part of my garden this evening

#Garden #Gardening #Zone5B #MichiganGarden #CottageGarden

daylilies have started to bloom! I know some folks aren't fans, but these are such a reliable plant for the edge of our yard that borders the alley - weekly garbage and recycle truck traffic doesn't phase them!
#garden #gardening #daylilies #zone5b

pears are growing

#garden #Gardening #Pears #FruitTree #Zone5B

anyone recognize these leaves?

#garden #gardening #unidentifiedPlant #plantID #plantIdentification #zone5b

I haven't had much luck with roses, but this one is looking lovely
#garden #gardening #roses #zone5b

the drought is bad enough that even the endemic violets are wilting #garden #gardening #zone5b

this hot spell is bringing things into bloom #garden #gardening #zone5b

@nicd I do "cold composting". I never have access to enough greens to perfectly balance the browns, etc. etc. I just pile what I have in #compost bins and let nature figure it out. Slowly but surely I get beautiful compost. It's really hard to do it wrong other than using *only* greens - they'll get slimy and smelly. But working in some brown dry crunchy stuff will prevent that. #gardening #CentralNewYork #Zone5b

Snow and temperatures in the 30s. Makeshift covers up for the peas. #Zone5b #gardening #NorthernIllinois

Only got one DIY rain barrel figured out today. Found a random rooted section from the Bartlett pear tree and planted it just because. Of course a buried metal cart just had to be in the spot I chose. Luckily, was able to slide over a bit. #Zone5b #gardening #NorthernIllinois

April 15, 1:50 PM. Fourth day in the low to mid-80s. Normal average for April is around 57°, 35° at night.

One week ago today, the windchill was 25° here. #Climate #WeatherWhiplash
#CentralNewYork #Zone5b

Two weeks ago, I pushed 5 elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) cuttings into the ground at the edge of my woods. When I say 'cuttings', I mean they were sticks. That's all you have to do with elderberry - push a foot long stick into the ground and it will root and send up shoots. Well, I can't see the roots, but all five of them are pushing out new growth at the leaf nodes. If all continues to go well, these could be 8 to 10 feet tall by the end of the summer. #gardening #CentralNewYork #Zone5b #NativePlants

Given everything I've observed of this nipped stem problem (last year wasn't the first time), I'm very optimistic that this solution will solve the problem.
I'm thinking of something similar for the 'maters - individual baskets for each plant. I'm hoping that if I can protect the most vulnerable crops this way, I can dispense with expense and headaches of fencing the whole garden. With quality materials and construction, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the baskets to last a minimum of 10 years, and hopefully, closer to 20.

PS - All my trellises are permanent, so the baskets are/will be, too. I rotate the climbing crops (peas, beans, tomatoes, squash) through the trellised beds but the trellises stay put.

#gardening #gardenPests #trellis #permaculture #CentralNewYork #Zone5b